Case Number 05232

TO THE MANOR BORN

The Charge

"In that case, I'll be brief. I'm fed up to the back teeth with the way
you keep rushing over here with some little quibble about the way I'm running
this estate. I know for a fact that you have no real quarrel with the way I'm
doing it, so why do you keep finding fault? I'll tell you why: firstly, because
you want to prove to everybody that you're still Dame High and Mighty around
here and secondly, because you rather enjoy coming over here...to see me."
-- Richard De Vere

Opening Statement

To the Manor Born is one of the most beloved British sitcoms of all
time. When its final episode aired in 1981, 24 million Britons tuned in, which
made it the number one most watched episode in British television history. (The
record stood until 1996.) It would be difficult to overestimate the show's
popularity or its closeness to the English heart.

Of course, the question we're asking about this Region 1 release of the
complete series is: How does To the Manor Born play for American viewers
who have never previously seen the programme?

Facts of the Case

Lady Audrey fforbes-Hamilton (Penelope Keith, The Good Life) is
secretly elated when her husband dies, giving her unfettered control of
Grantleigh Estate and its thousand acres. She confides in her old chum Marjory
Frobisher (Angela Thorne, Ballet Shoes) that she wasn't keen on the
former lord of the manor.

Audrey's elation is short-lived, however: Grantleigh Estate is in dire
financial straits. Though the fforbes-Hamiltons have inhabited the manor for 400
years, Audrey must put it to auction. The auction is won by Richard De Vere
(Peter Bowles, Lytton's Diary), a self-made millionaire in the foodstuffs
trade. Though he hails from London, his mother is Czechoslovakian. New money
with a foreign heritage? This simply will not do.

Audrey leaves Grantleigh, hops into her Rolls, and takes residence in the
old carriage house a hundred feet away from the manor. Rather than idle around
eating crisps on the sofa, Audrey insinuates herself into the daily affairs of
Grantleigh Estate. Despite her best efforts to paint him otherwise, Richard De
Vere is not the prat she'd assumed he would be. Audrey soon takes a fancy to De
Vere...but she's not one to let emotion stand in the way of 400 years' worth of
tradition.

The Evidence

To the Manor Born is a classic situational romantic comedy. By
classic, I of course mean predictable. Strong female lead in close proximity to
a strong male lead who frustrates her...I wonder if they'll fall in love? There
is no certainty that To the Manor Born will slavishly follow the formula.
It could break away and tread new ground at any time. But it does follow the
formula, it doesn't break away, and it is predictable.

And no one seems to mind.

This series thrives on two characters with real chemistry, who are also
interesting alone. Beloved English actress Penelope Keith has the slightly
awkward yet dominating physical presence of Mary Woronov, along with her
maverick sex appeal. Keith's inherent charisma glorifies the British upper crust
in the same way that Mary Tyler Moore's fresh-faced appeal ignites American
imaginations. Keith plays unlikable, snobby characters that we paradoxically
fall in love with. She is firmly matched in Peter Bowles, a dashing man who
carries the world in the furrow of his brow but who radiates genteel grace. When
the two share the screen, sparks fly, but we never grow fatigued watching the
emotional mayhem.

To the Manor Born piles layers onto this seemingly simple formula,
mostly political ones. The nuances of British politics and class are foreign to
American viewers, so I intuitively grasped the socioeconomic innuendo in
Audrey's words and actions without understanding the core.

Even without my full realization of these themes, the writing stood out as
particularly incisive. Death, taxes, class, foreigners, and sex are skewered
with abandon in Audrey's words. She is audaciously arrogant, completely full of
her own importance, and tears into everyone around her: "If I can't keep
the manor, I want it to go to one of us. 'England for the English,' as we used
to say about India." Richard gets his own barbs in, which makes To the
Manor Born deliciously wicked at times. Almost every episode has a line or a
situation that will bring a smile to your face.

Though it admirably incorporates heavy themes and sharp banter, To the
Manor Born is a rather simple "girl meets boy and waits three seasons
to hook up with him" story. If you've seen Who's the Boss? or
Frasier or Friends, you're aware of the weariness that can
accompany this extended romantic tease. At some point, we know with certainty
that certain people will hook up, and we no longer care if and when the kiss of
true love will come. To its credit, To the Manor Born avoids emotional
burnout. The trick seems to be relative realism. Manufactured situations keep
Audrey and Richard apart, but the situations are never too wacky or over the
top. Decorum and honesty keep us engaged -- at least, it kept 24 million English
engaged.

It isn't groundbreaking, but To the Manor Born is a solid romantic
sitcom with two strong leads and a host of colorful supporting characters. When
you factor in the multilayered skewering of British social mores and a steady
dose of sharp humor, it isn't hard to understand why To the Manor Born is
so popular.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Have you ever shown a treasured series from your formative years to a
neophyte from a subsequent generation, then been stung when they were completely
unimpressed? Maybe your young friend doesn't find K.I.T.T. as awesome as you do,
or he laughs with derision when B.A. Baracus pities the fool. To the Manor
Born is as good as people say; I can see its quality and intuit its social
ramifications. But the truth is, I'm a generation and a continent removed from
To the Manor Born's intended audience, and its luster isn't as
bright.

I laughed a lot in the first episodes. The dialogue is witty and the
observations pointed. But the series soon settled into a comfortable rut. This
comfortable rut is precisely what endeared it to so many, but it chafed when I
tried it on. Keith and Bowles never lost their captivating personalities, but
the characters and situations became routine. In the intervening decades I have
seen similar themes play out time and time again. At this stage, the television
magic of To the Manor Born feels more like "tried-and-true
hocus-pocus." I could see where the show was going, and I wasn't enchanted
with the ride that took me there.

To be fair, if I fully grasped the subtleties of British class and politics
I might have gotten more out of To the Manor Born. Anglophiles will have
a better foundation to appreciate the series. My week-long trip to London and
years of reading British fantasy novels are scant preparation for three seasons'
worth of class-based humor.

Mark Lewisohn writes on the BBC Comedy Guide website that "the TV
production came across as twee to some viewers," which basically means that
To the Manor Born was fluff. Though I wish it were otherwise, To the
Manor Born did strike me as twee. For example, one episode shows Audrey
struggling without her motorcar, so she adopts horseback as her means of
transportation. I can see how a Lady arguing a parking ticket for her horse (and
insulting the policeman's mental capacity) is funny, but I also didn't buy her
sudden conversion to a conservationist standpoint. All oil-consuming modes of
transportation are evil? She doesn't really believe that, nor do I. It is simply
a convenient vehicle for Audrey's signature audacity.

When I said that To the Manor Born's luster wasn't bright, I meant it
literally as well as figuratively. Prints of television series from the '70s are
generally in poor condition, but this transfer is particularly dingy. Colors are
faded and dull, and there is rampant grain. The brightest and most saturated
colors come when something moves rapidly in front of a light source, which
causes garish streaks of red, green, or purple light. In short, the video
quality is not becoming. The audio fares better. It is mostly clear,
occasionally muffled, and lacking in dynamic range. Nonetheless the audio
accomplishes what it sets out to accomplish. I particularly enjoyed the opening
theme song, which is a disco riff superimposed over a slideshow of stuffy
British icons.

Although I wasn't completely taken with the series, there's no fault in BBC
Home Video's presentation of the DVD boxed set. We're given the entire set of
episodes, the Christmas special, and four radio episodes that are nearly as good
as the television episodes. Two television spots featuring the lead actors give
an idea of the weight To the Manor Born carries on its native soil.

Closing Statement

Though To the Manor Born's plot seems threadbare to hardened
television veterans, the series leads retain style and verve 25 years later. If
you appreciate British humor, you'll probably enjoy the verbal sparring that
characterizes these scripts. Within its romantic sitcom genre, To the Manor
Born is a rock-solid entry that may enchant new viewers. If you've become
even slightly jaded, or if you prefer modern spins on the genre, you're in for a
long (but not completely uninvolving) journey.

The Verdict

The court cannot pass sentence on sentimentality. Lady fforbes-Hamilton and
Lord De Vere are free to go.